Phoenix alternative school closing

Rich Township district blames higher costs

The alternative school in Rich Township High School District 227 will close, the school board has decided, because of the high cost per student and the growing number of students.

The 5-1 decision came in a Monday night meeting over the protests of dozens of supporters. Phoenix Campus, 3230 Lincoln Highway in Park Forest, will be shuttered at the end of the school year.

The board agreed to begin planning for a successor to the alternative school, likely to be self-contained classrooms of 15 to 20 students in each of the district's three high schools and an evening school in one of the buildings.

Board President Betty Owens said district officials intend to adequately provide for students at the alternative school, but in another forum. Many have disciplinary issues or difficulty learning in a traditional classroom environment.

"It is our goal that we do indeed make sure that every student in our district reaches his or her highest potential," Owens said.

"I think we can create that same type of [nurturing] environment with a different type of model," said Supt. Howard Hunigan.

But some of the dozens of parents and students at the meeting said they felt betrayed by not having more time to discuss alternatives to closing Phoenix, which opened in 2001.

Andrea Headley, 16, a junior, said she felt much more comfortable at Phoenix than when she attended Rich Central in Olympia Fields.

"The teachers care a whole lot more," said Headley, adding that Principal Marguerite Martin tries to help students who have misbehaved, rather than just punishing them.

Phoenix has about 77 students, and five full-time and five part-time teachers.

The average cost of educating a student at Phoenix is $15,500, more than three times that of the traditional high schools, Hunigan has said. The total cost of educating students at Phoenix and sending them to two outside programs is $1.45 million. A new system would save $838,918.